I believe there is a place for all kinds of lever machines. I've owned a LaPeppina, Caravel, MCaL, and Cremina. I now own a Faema Lambro.

I am a fan of the commercial spring lever. It's simple: Walk up and pull a shot without any ritual. Big steamer and always makes a great shot. In two plus years, I can count my sink shots on one hand. I don't like to play with coffee. I just want to make a good espresso and drink it. It's not my hobby or life. A commercial spring lever simply means you normally get great results with a minimum of fuss. In my opinion , it's the ultimate in leveraging your time for the benefit of getting a good espresso drink.

Now, this is certainly not for everyone. Don't go down this path because I've been there before you. But, if the journey you seek lines up with mine, then do investigate a commercial spring lever.

Just perfect and I could not agree more^^. From turning on in the morning the big plumbed-in Aurora was always just there for an outstanding coffee whenever I felt like it especially with the Teflon group gaskets fitted. No fuss, no overheating, no voodoo with the grinder, just grind, load, lock and pull. And when you looked under the hood all you saw was a humongous boiler, a few pipes and a couple of power accoutrements. The ultimate in coffee benevolence. I really do miss the Aurora.

If you are even remotely serious about your coffee, have the space and an agreeable partner then go commercial lever.

I think this is a positive response? I feel that the truth of the matter is that most prosumer machines (and up) are massive overkill for the home. There are certain joys to being a home espresso maker that can't be translated into a cafe context. Small domestic lever espresso machines are one of those joys.

Just perfect and I could not agree more^^. From turning on in the morning the big plumbed-in Aurora was always just there for an outstanding coffee whenever I felt like it especially with the Teflon group gaskets fitted. No fuss, no overheating, no voodoo with the grinder, just grind, load, lock and pull. And when you looked under the hood all you saw was a humongous boiler, a few pipes and a couple of power accoutrements. The ultimate in coffee benevolence. I really do miss the Aurora.

If you are even remotely serious about your coffee, have the space and an agreeable partner then go commercial lever.

Ha...another +1.As has been said, it's whatever fits your lifestyle, wants, needs.I admit to enjoying the longer ritual of preparing a Cremina shot...well, not that much ritual. Pulling a manual shot has a certain ego boost included when the results justify the self back-pat.However, the new influx of "Home" Commercial spring levers like the Londinium L1, QM Achille, Bezzara Strega, Izzo, etc make this choice more affordable for these looking for a walk up and pull a great shot, like a true Italian cafe.And, with the copious # of awesome HX/DB's out there, it's truly a Wonderland for espresso Geeks!

My La Pavoni Professional has challenged me on a daily basis over the year I've owned it. It certainly has cured me of the desire to control every facet of the espresso process. Although I would certainly like to be successful enough to actually manage every stage of the process.

First, I've stopped roasting with my popcorn popper until I can get a Behmor or a Gene (I'm still making the buying decision on roasters). I did learn that a 5 minute popper roast does not make good espresso. A 200 foot extension cord could not slow down the roast time.

Second, I bought a Mazzer Mini. After a month of rotating the adjustment wheel, I figured out that the factory setting was giving me the best grind for my beans. Now I simply rock it a notch or two in either direction for fine tuning.

Third, the bottomless portafilter and how to tamp it. This step is killing me and there is no machine, automatic or manual, that can replace the pure barista skills necessary for transitioning coffee from grinder to espresso machine. For weeks my crotchless portafilter dribbled coffee off its wooden handle as often as it dribbled into the cup. Channeling is my current weakest link. Lately, I've been minimizing the clumping of the fresh 14 gram grind by stirring a turkey pin in the double basket. A NSEW move, medium pressure tamp and final spin with a convex Reg Barber finishes this step. 50% of the time, this procedure forms a small cone during extraction, otherwise it is all about the channeling.

Those are 3 important steps before one even gets to the espresso machine. This is probably why most people choose a semi automatic, or at least a spring lever (if they have any brains:-). By now, I am so close to a great shot of espresso. I wonder what chant to utter in the name of the god La Pavoni to convince the all powerful one to make me a "god shot." I decide on a straight count.

I lift the lever and let some hot water pour out to heat the brew group. I also did this prior to removing the portafilter. I have a temperature strip on the head so I can monitor if a second release of water is needed. With the lever in the up position, but not so high that it squirts water, I attach the portafilter. I give the lever a couple of small (one inch) Fellini moves to fill the head (5 seconds) and then a 20 second full pull that feels like "a knife through frozen butter." (That's an expression I got from some other Coffeegeek.) Next is where I get a nice cone (if it is red striped I know the temperature is right) or I see several blonde droplets that signify the dreaded channeling.

Wouldn't it be nice to have a several thousand dollar spring loaded machine with an E61 brew group? It's not going to happen. My wife doesn't drink coffee. I'm in this alone with the hope of getting a line-item to cover the cost of a home roasting machine. Well, I could say that the joy of coffee is in successfully working with the equipment we already have. And I have got great gear for the job.

That isn't going to solve you channeling issue (and they aren't e61s, that's a specific HX group model unrelated to piston based espresso machines). You should try increasing you dose, easing up on the grind, and dropping the Fellini move for a bit. You shouldn't have to resort to the Fellini move to get a full shot (a little less than 2x dose weight), if your dose/grind/tamp are on the puck will saturate and the group will fill while you hold the lever up. With a clean LP it should be abundantly clear when water is filling the group and when it has finished.

Thanks for your tips. I had just figured out that the Fellini moves weren't helping. They probably were just agitating the puck and contributing to channeling.I thought those $4K lever machines used some version of E61s. Just a dream I had. I'll do some more tweaking per your suggestions (more dose, less grind) for tomorrow's morning shots.

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